Thirty Pieces of Silver
by Genevieve LeMechant
Summary: "Even my best friend, the one I trusted most, the one who shared my food, has turned against me." Psalm 41:9


Disclaimer: The story and Adrienne Chanson are mine. The rest is JK's.   
  
Author's Note: I am not sure where this is going, but I am excited to see how it turns out. I have several ideas for where to take this! I am also not quite sure how Adrienne is going to turn out, but I think she will do well. Reviews appreciated! Thanks for reading!   
  
Thirty Pieces of Silver  
  
Genevieve LeMéchant  
  
"…And said, 'what are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?' They paid him thirty pieces of silver and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over."   
Matthew 26: 15-16  
  
  
Her partner stood behind the Dark Lord, who was giving the usual oration to his minions. Lord Voldemort sermonized of power and of tainted blood. On and on he went, preaching of the world that was to come once the Plan was complete and the prophecy fulfilled. Adrienne had heard the speech many times before, as it was basically the same at every meeting. If the other Death Eaters noticed the similarities, however, they did not care. Thousands of them stood around her, cloaked in black, faces covered in masks, muttering in agreement with their dark master, and cheering vehemently when appropriate. Adrienne too wore the long, hooded robes and the unfeeling mask, but she was less than moved by the long speech. Then again, Adrienne was not really one of them, and it was not ties of loyalty to pure blood, nor want of power that held her on the dark, misty moor this bitter cold February night. It was something far beyond that, and even Adrienne would not admit what really held her there in the midst of evil. She did it for him, and yet he was not even present. To be fair, Adrienne thought, glancing up at the cold cloud cover, he couldn't be out tonight. The moon, wherever it was hiding, was full, and for this reason Adrienne was stuck with a new partner this evening.   
  
He did not trust her, not for a moment, but Dumbledore did trust her, and that should have been enough for Severus. After all, Dumbledore had given him a second chance, and Adrienne had done nothing to require a second chance; she was still on her first. And yet, it was hard for Severus to trust a woman, and still harder for him to trust a woman that was nearly two hundred years his senior. It was not her fault of course, that was just the way it had happened, but Severus always felt ill at ease around her, even though Dumbledore repeatedly assured him that Adrienne had full control of her urges, so to speak, and he was in no danger. Trust did not come as easily to Severus Snape as it did to Albus Dumbledore, and with good reason. Try as he might, Severus was just not as accepting as others managed to be. It must run in the family, Severus thought dryly to himself as Voldemort finished speaking. Perhaps Severus would not have to present a report this evening after all. This prospect slightly lightened Severus' dark mood. The Cruciatus Curse often followed Severus' phony spy reports. Severus often felt that perhaps Voldemort did not fully believe him; an unnerving thought when one considered the consequences of Voldemort having even the slightest bit of doubt in one of his spies. Severus' nerves of steel had held as of yet, but he was growing tired, and felt that Voldemort was growing restless: the result could well be deadly.   
  
Severus was brought back to the moment by a familiar drawling voice. Lucius Malfoy was reporting on several new Dark objects he had acquired, a few of which were ancient. Malfoy hoped that many could be duplicated and used for Muggle torture, or something of that persuasion. Not a surprising or original report from one of Voldemort's favorite supporters, but none the less it was killing time. These meetings never went beyond daybreak, and it was growing faintly light. Severus stared out into the crowd to where he knew Adrienne was standing. She was growing nervous, though it would be hard for anyone else to tell. Severus had a keen knack for reading body language and Adrienne was growing quite fidgety indeed. Severus smirked; he did like to see her squirm. It was good for her, making her slightly less aloof, if that were possible.  
Finally, Malfoy ended his report and Voldemort stepped up again. After another twenty minutes of propaganda, he adjourned the meeting. Many of the Death Eaters milled around, conversing and making other plans among themselves. Severus however made haste in finding Adrienne, as they were to immediately report back to Dumbledore as soon as possible. He found her, standing alone near the back of the milling crowd, and they walked in silence together to a secluded area to apparate.  
  
The pair stopped near the edge of a secluded wooded area and removed their masks. Severus studied Adrienne's solemn face. She was pale, more so than usual, and her eyes gave her away: Adrienne was utterly exhausted.  
"Not feeling well, Chanson," he remarked snidely. Adrienne gave her partner a false smile.  
"Yes, actually, I'm growing quite hungry," she replied coolly. This had the expected effect of shutting Snape up and getting rid of the self-important smirk on his face.   
"It must be hard finding nutrients worthy of your tastes."  
"Come off it Snape, I'm not going to suck your blood. I doubt it would taste any better than sour milk. Now let's get back to Hogwarts before sunrise, shall we?" Adrienne's words were no more cutting than usual, but Severus didn't have the energy to argue. The meetings were as draining to him as they were to Adrienne, and he felt the sooner he could go back to his dungeon and sleep.  
"Well off we go then, Bloodsucker. See you in Hogsmeade," and with that he was gone. Adrienne was more annoyed by the slur than offended, so she simply shook her head and with a soft pop, she was gone as well. 


End file.
